Soccer
Radek Vitek is relishing the challenge of playing in the Championship once again after a permanent switch to Middlesbrough from Manchester United was confirmed.
Vitek, who spent last year on loan with Bristol City, has agreed to join Middlesbrough in a deal reportedly worth up to £14m, a record fee for a goalkeeper in the Championship.
The transfer also reportedly includes a 35% sell-on clause for United, matching rights and a buy-back option.
At the start of the summer, Vitek made his intentions to go and find regular game time clear. He joined United as a teenager in 2020 but spent the last two-and-a-half seasons out on loan.
His most impressive spell away from the Red Devils came last term, as he helped Bristol City finish 12th in the second tier and kept 12 clean sheets in 41 league appearances.
Only Carl Rushworth (17), Christian Walton (16), Ivor Pandur and Sol Brynn (both 14) managed to keep more shutouts in the division last season, and Vitek is hoping to help his new team challenge for promotion again.
“It feels great to be here,” Vitek told the club’s website. “This is a new challenge for me, and I’m really excited to be a Boro player.
“The project here is very impressive, because you can clearly see the ambition and where the club wants to go. I’m delighted to now be part of that.”
We’re delighted to confirm the signing of highly-regarded goalkeeper Radek Vitek from Manchester United.
Welcome to Boro, Radek!
— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) August 8, 2026
Vitek’s 134 saves were the fourth-most in the Championship last season, while his save percentage of 70.97% was also the fourth-best of any goalkeeper to play more than 25 games.
Excluding penalties and own goals, Vitek also only conceded 50 goals from 58.7 expected goals on target (xGoT) faced last season, meaning he prevented 8.7 goals.
He becomes Middlesbrough’s seventh signing of the summer, joining Jeremy Sarmiento, Myles Peart-Harris, Kyle Joseph, Will Lankshear, Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten.
Vitek’s arrival comes after Middlesbrough began their domestic campaign with a 1-0 win over Wrexham in the first round of the EFL Cup on Friday, with Lankshear scoring the only goal at the Riverside Stadium.
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